On Top, Under and In Between

Translated from Urdu by Aakar Patel

ABOUT THE STORY Even sixty years after it was written, ‘On Top, Under and In Between’ (‘Upar, neechay aur darmiyan’), a story by the Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto that invited the ire of a young Islamic Republic of Pakistan, brings to mind the perversity and complexity of free-speech controversies in India today. The story actually features one of Manto’s most discreet fictional narrators, almost proving that censors have much more lurid imaginations than the artists whom they would suppress.

Aakar Patel, the translator, writes, “Manto was prosecuted for four of his stories (‘Bu’, ‘Kali Shalwar’, ‘Thanda Gosht’ and ‘Dhuan’) in British Lahore, but finally convicted by a Pakistani court. This came in 1952 after a Karachi magistrate judged ‘Upar, neechay aur darmiyan,’ to be obscene. The story’s subject is: how should someone write about sex in the Islamic republic? Manto approaches the subject as obliquely as he can, writing about a couple that goes about it as innocents but ends up breaking the bed. The fine imposed on Manto, Rs 25, was the minimum and could not be appealed, thus leaving the conviction against the writer’s name forever.”

Soon after the verdict, in 1952, Manto published the story himself, with the note, “My publisher refused to print this story. That upset me. I was prosecuted and convicted by a Karachi court for writing it. And I was fined Rs 25 after being found guilty. I wanted that my publisher pay me another Rs 25 as recompense for my trauma, but that didn’t happen. Anyway, I somehow scrabbled around for the money to publish this on my own, so that you could read it. I’m quite certain you will honour the piece—for you are my dear reader, not my publisher. Yours, Saadat Hasan Manto.”

Why I Write, a selection of Manto’s non-fiction translated by Aakar Patel, is forthcoming later this month from Westland.

On Top, Under and In Between

Saadat Hasan Manto
Translated from Urdu by Aakar Patel

MIAN SAHEB: We’ve got an opportunity to meet after quite some time.

HIS WIFE, BEGUM SAHIBA: True.

MIAN SAHEB: I try to step back from my responsibilities but those incompetents don’t allow me to do so.

BEGUM SAHIBA: The truth is you’re soft-hearted. Like me.

MIAN SAHEB: True. If you should find the time, send me the speeches you have made in the past few days. I want to study them at leisure.

BEGUM SAHIBA: Certainly.

MIAN SAHEB: And I had spoken to you about that thing.

BEGUM SAHIBA: What thing?

MIAN SAHEB: Perhaps I hadn’t mentioned it. Yesterday, I found the middle son in his room. He was reading Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

BEGUM SAHIBA: That disgraceful work!

MIAN SAHEB: Yes, Begum.

BEGUM SAHIBA: What did you do?

MIAN SAHEB: I seized the book.

BEGUM SAHIBA: You did well.

MIAN SAHEB: I think I’ll also consult a doctor and change his diet.

BEGUM SAHIBA: That’s the right approach.

MIAN SAHEB: And how are you otherwise?

BEGUM SAHIBA: I’m well.

MIAN SAHEB: I was thinking I’d ask you…

BEGUM SAHIBA: Oh… You’re getting quite naughty!

MIAN SAHEB: It’s all your doing.

BEGUM SAHIBA: But… What of your health?

MIAN SAHEB: It’s fine. I won’t do anything without consulting the doctors. You should too.